Intro Letter

Greetings fellow classmates, my name is Paul Choi. I was born in Seoul, Korea, but I have lived 37years of my life in sunny southern California. At five years old my family immigrated to California in November of 1971. I attended Kindergarten in South Korea and grades 1-12 in the United States. My parents were always looking for a better place to raise a family so I changed schools almost every couple of years till 9th grade. I finished my high school years in Glendale, Ca. I attended USC for a couple of years, but transferred to and graduated from BIOLA University in La Mirada, Ca.
I enjoy spending time with my family then if I have time I play golf w/ my children, play tennis w/ my son, and try to go skiing/sledding couple times a year. I have worked with children for over 20 years in different organizations. And 9 of those years have been spent as a children’s ministry pastor. In the past years my part-time church position allowed me to work from home. The great thing about working from home is that I got to be more of a stay-home dad while working after the kids went to bed or when they were at school. All the years that I spent hanging around, ministering to young children, and being an uncle helped me become a better prepared dad. I am married to my wife, Lauren, who is a pediatrician and we have a son who is 8 years old and twin girls who are 6 years old. Yes, raising twins had its difficulties, but I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything. Some of the memories of raising the girls are hazy, but I do some pictures and videos to remind me.
Over the years I have only learned as needed to survive in our technologically advancing world. In the past I have always had someone I could delegate technological duties to at work or church. And if I ever need anything at home my brother-in-law, a self-taught computer handyman geek, comes over to fix things. I never really spent much time on the internet only because dial-up was always a slow painful experience. But, a couple of years ago I have upgraded to a fiber optic wireless connection in our home. I have enjoyed the convenience that connection speed makes on the internet. I have begun to take advantage of online banking services and paperless statements this year.
The things that I am comfortable with: transferring, posting, storing, and sending digital images; email; ordering and purchasing.
Things that I am getting use to: online banking, power point presentations.
Things that I am somewhat comfortable with: excel spreadsheets.
I use to be an original Mac person in the old days until pricings forced me over to PCs. I am looking into going back to Mac in the very near future because our church has gone all Mac. Currently I am using Microsoft Office 2003.
The College of Education’s mission statement was not even a factor in choosing San Marcos credentialing program. The reason why I chose San Marcos is because many of the Temecula school teachers I knew boasted about the credentialing program at San Marcos. It is an encompassing statement. But, the 2 phrases that stand out in the mission statement for me were “advancing professional practices” and “committed to student centered education.” During my high school years I remember a Math teacher and an English teacher who often came to school drunk or had alcohol breath. The classes were easy, but when I look back I feel cheated. I know that I would not want such teachers educating my children. I am looking to incorporate what I learn in the credentialing program with my church’s school program for a more professional and child centered Sunday program.